Saturday, February 9, 1963
February 9, 1963
JFK traveled to New York City on this Saturday and stayed in his customary suite on the 34th floor. He was accompanied for the weekend by Jackie, her sister Lee and brother-in-law Stas and Chuck Spalding.
After arriving, JFK stopped by the suite of Phil Graham, who was with his mistress Robin Webb, who was a young Australian reporter he had met in Paris. Graham had just been released from the Chestnut Lodge psychiatric hospital where he was treated for his increasingly erratic behavior.
Washington Post co-owner Philip Graham (photo courtesy dailymaverick.co.za)
Kennedy, not generally inclined to “feel your pain”, was by many accounts, very attentive, patient, and considerate to Graham as he struggled with his mental illness.
JFK, who was notoriously absent-minded, reportedly left his briefcase full of documents in Graham’s suite.
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Absent-minded? It’s a good thing we learned this now, rather than before the 1959 elections!